Welcome to our newest blog series Methods Behind the Madness. In this series, we’re addressing some questions that delve into the more data-driven side of Project FeederWatch. We hope that these blog posts make our scientific methods easier to understand, and spark critical thinking about FeederWatch data. The first question we’d like to explore is:

Why shouldn’t I start a count when I see an exciting species?

If you see a new or uncommon bird species, it’s completely understandable to want to report it on a FeederWatch count. We get it—some birds knock your socks off! It’s great to notice rare birds, but reporting counts only when you see exciting species misrepresents the birds at your feeders and makes it seem as if rare species are more common than they really are.

Let’s say we have three FeederWatchers, Lucy, Peter, and Maria, all of whom had Pine Siskins visiting their feeders over the course of a month (see illustration below). Lucy and Peter rarely saw siskins, but Maria saw siskins frequently. Let’s see what their counts would look like if Lucy and Maria counted in the correct way (i.e. chose their count days irrespective of siskins being present) and Peter counted in an incorrect way (i.e. chose to count only on days when he saw siskins).

As the illustration shows, Maria’s counts correctly indicated that she saw siskins frequently, and Lucy’s counts correctly indicated that she saw siskins rarely. However, because Peter did his FeederWatch counts only when he saw siskins, his counts misleadingly indicated that he saw siskins as frequently as Maria. Peter counted in what is called a “biased” manner—he biased his counts toward over representing siskins, making it look like Pine Siskins were common at his feeders when they were actually as uncommon as at Lucy’s feeders. Peter wanted us to know every time he saw siskins, but counting this way makes it impossible for us to get an accurate picture of where siskins are common and where siskins are rare. Of course, there is always a chance that a species will be over or underrepresented in a count just by chance. That’s why getting lots of counts from lots of participants is so valuable. Having a large sample of counts means that a few anomalies won’t change the entire picture.

We know it may be boring to count even when there aren’t “exciting birds” around, but making sure your counts are unbiased is part of what makes Project FeederWatch data valuable. We want to know where and when the rare birds show up, but we need to know where and when they aren’t around too. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know they are rare!

The next time you see an exciting bird outside of your chosen count days, don’t despair. Make a note in your journal, take a photo, and enjoy the fantastic sighting. Keep to your normal FeederWatch schedule and trust that your counts are valuable whether you have rare visitors or not.

FeederWatch collected data on eye disease in American Goldfinches for many years and then stopped because the prevalence of disease in goldfinches was minimal. Last season a number of FeederWatchers wrote to tell us they were seeing an increase in eye disease in American Goldfinches. Given the recent reports, we have reopened the disease reporting option for American Goldfinches. Now when you enter a count for this species, you will be asked if you looked for eye disease. If you answer yes, then you will be asked how many individuals you observed with disease.

Photo by by Patricia Hankins, Meansville, GA.

Check for disease and tell us even if you see no disease

You don’t see any disease at your feeders? Do you think that makes your observations insignificant? It does not! There is no way to know the correct proportion of infected individuals without all those zeros. Even if only 1 person out of 100 notices signs of the disease, we need to know about those 99 zeros to be able to say that there is an infection rate of 1%.

Please report if you look for the disease during your regular count even if you don’t see American Goldfinches with apparent infection. Then check the “yes” box when asked if you looked for the infection, and type in a “0” when asked how many finches were infected.

Here are some examples of what to look for in American Goldfinches.Photo by Jennifer Carchidi, Hudson, NY

Flowers and birds tend to go together and that was certainly the case at the 2015 Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, Washington. More than 60,000 people were attracted to a bird-themed display featuring a 2-story tall bird feeder and a birdhouse the size of a garden shed. Many FeederWatchers stopped by to share stories and chat about birds with David Bonter, former FeederWatch project leader, and Mary Guthrie from the Cornell Lab. The display featured information about chickadee communication and iPads where visitors could explore the FeederWatch “Common Feeder Bird Interactive” tool, the NestWatch “Right Birds, Right House” tool for selecting bird houses, and the Lab’s identification app for smartphones, Merlin. We also gave away thousands of Common Feeder Birds posters to show attendees.FeederWatcher Lin Folsom and former FeederWatch leader David Bonter at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

We were delighted to chat with FeederWatcher Lin Folsom of Anacortes, Washington, who stopped by to pose for a picture. Lin enjoys feeding gobs of Pine Siskins at her home near the coast between Seattle and Vancouver. In recent years, Lin has seen more and more Anna’s Hummingbirds successfully overwintering well to the north of their traditional wintering areas.

The flower & FeederWatch connection continues next week (February 28-March 8, 2015) as FeederWatch Project Leader Emma Greig will be greeting visitors to a similar display at the Philadelphia Flower Show. If you are in the Philadelphia area, stop by the Subaru / Cornell Lab of Ornithology display to chat with Emma from March 2-4. Other Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff will be at the booth including Robyn Bailey (NestWatch Project Leader, March 5-7), Rhiannon Crain (YardMap Project Leader, February 28-March 1), and Mary Guthrie (Director of Marketing, entire show).

Special thanks to our friends at Subaru who invited the Lab to talk about birds within their beautiful, bird-themed display and funded the give-a-ways and our trips to both shows.

To help us celebrate our upcoming 25th Anniversary season, we are looking for stories from participants about changes you have noticed at your feeders over the years – whether you have been participating for 25 years or one. Has a new species moved into the area? Is one of your favorite species becoming easier or more difficult to find? Please share your observations about notable changes by posting a comment below.

A big anniversary is approaching as we begin our 25th season of Project FeederWatch this coming fall! Please help us celebrate this milestone by submitting your fondest FeederWatch memory. You can use the comment function on this blog to share your most memorable FeederWatch moment, and be sure to let us know how long you have been FeederWatching. We’re sure that your fellow participants and bird-watchers will appreciate reading through the stories. Thanks for the memories!

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the growing diversity of projects that, like FeederWatch, engage the public in helping us all learn more about the natural world. The article mentions Cornell Lab projects including FeederWatch, and features quotes from Janis Dickinson, the Lab’s Director of Citizen Science. Follow this link to read the article. Janis mentions recently published research from FeederWatch in the article. You can find details about this research here.

Now that the nesting season is upon us, it is a great time to explore ways to make your neighborhood more inviting for nesting birds. Providing nest boxes is a fabulous way to help birds, and they provide an easy method for monitoring nesting behavior and contributing to science through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch project. NestWatch teaches people about bird breeding biology and engages them in collecting and submitting nesting records. Such records include information about nest site location, habitat, species, and number of eggs, young, and fledglings. You can submit your nest observations to the NestWatch database and become part of a continent-wide effort to better understand and manage the impacts of environmental change on bird populations.

Tree Swallows in nest box. Photo by J. Morgan.

Think Outside The Box

Of the nearly 95,000 nesting attempts in the NestWatch database, 97% are from birds using nest boxes. But NestWatch is interested in collecting data from other nests, too. Many of the NestWatch focal species do not use boxes and you don’t have to go far to find them. Several species of birds nest in trees and shrubs in suburban yards, and possibly even on your front porch. Many of these common species are underrepresented in the NestWatch database. For example, the database only includes 72 Northern Cardinal nests, 48 Northern Mockingbird nests, and 4 American Goldfinch nests! So, while you’re enjoying the outdoors this spring and summer, please take a moment to look around for any bird nests and report on the nesting success of the robins, phoebes, finches, and other birds you see.

The FeederWatch Cam has completed its northbound migration from Colorado to Canada! Its new home in Manitouwadge, Ontario, is within the boreal forest, promising plenty of views of northern finches including redpolls, Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks, and Pine Grosbeaks. Tammie Hache, the new cam host, is eager to share her birds with the world. Check out the live video stream to view the latest activity at the feeders or post a comment or question for Tammie. At the time of this posting, it was 13 degrees F and Tammie’s feeders were being swarmed by Common and Hoary Redpolls!

The new Project FeederWatch Cam in Manitouwadge, Ontario. The camera is located in the housing on the left side of the photo. The redpolls are ready for their close-up!

After two years of beaming images of the spectacular action at David Smith and Shanna Rendon’s feeders in Grand Junction, Colorado, the FeederWatch Cam is set to migrate north on February 18, 2011. Tune-in to the live video stream for one last chance at a glimpse of western specialties that can be seen in this unique pinyon/juniper ecosystem. Birds like the Gambel’s Quail, Western Scrub-Jay, Bushtit, and Pinyon Jay have made regular appearances on the cam. In addition to the amazing birds, many of us will also miss the cast of mammalian characters that frequently attempted to steal the spotlight from the birds. FeederWatch greatly appreciates the excitement that Dave and Shanna shared with the world by opening their backyard to us through FeederWatch Cam.

Gambel's Quail by David Smith

The FeederWatch Cam will be offline during a short transition period as the camera is installed at its new home in Manitouwadge, Ontario, deep in the northern forest. FeederWatcher Tammie Hache is looking forward to sharing the diversity of birds that she enjoys in her woodland retreat. Boreal specialties like Pine Grosbeak, Hoary Redpoll, and Evening Grosbeak are likely to be regular characters appearing on the new video stream. We’ll post to the blog and notify fans when the new cam is up and running in Ontario.